A New Reality
by Antiz
Summary: Player is brought into the world of warcraft by an AI and begins his life in his new reality.   First story ever :x ;  DOT HACK-like plot
1. Login 1:  Birth

_A/N: Deployed with no access to WoW or any of my beloved anime, so writing this to pass the time between missions. Its the first thing I've ever attempted to write, so constructive criticism is more than welcome. Theres no predetermined plot, or even character outlines, so I have no idea how long this will be or if its actually even headed anywhere... A few hints of DOT HACK here and there I admit, but not really at the same time._

_All locations mentioned are the original property of Blizz as are obvious NPC references. All "Playable Characters" and 'Katsby' are O/C's._

_I know the MC is a little 'emo' this first chapter, but deal with it ;p_

* * *

**Login 0: Goodbye, Cruel World**

The moment he got home he went straight to his room, tossing his school bag onto the bed and plopping down in front of the computer. He had been saving to buy this game for months and was, for the first time in a long time, a bit excited. He was tired of life- tired of being bullied, put down, and stomped into the ground both physically and morally. He had read that this game was the closest thing to an 'escape from reality' as there ever was, and he hoped dearly it was more than a bluff.

After the long installation and update process, the screen flashed the question "Character name:". He thought to himself for nearly an hour. A new beginning needed a new name; it had to be something completely unrelated to the world he resided in now. He smiled to himself as it came to him, _Alkaid._ It sounded noble to him, something a self sufficient person would name themselves. The character creation screen appeared and after much browsing, he found the class that seemed perfect to him, a Paladin. A mighty warrior that could both wreck havoc and bask himself and others around him in the healing powers of light.

Finally, the chance to be _someone_ that mattered. When he was finished, he logged into his new life for the first time.

* * *

**Login 1: Birth**

Alkaid opened his eyes and inspected his new surroundings for the first time. He was in a lush green forest full of wild life and could see caves along a shapely mountainside in the distance. The wildlife nearby seemed harmless enough- nothing but a few timid wolves and wild hog were wandering around.

As he turned to gain a full 360 view of the area, his sight of the forest was abruptly cut off as he came to see the large church that had been behind him. It looked fairly normal- a large white cathedral-like building with stained-glass windows and a few statues here and there.

Alkaid heard a cool breeze pass by and, if he listened hard enough, could hear a battle taking place far off. He was simply amazed by what he saw and felt. He was actually appreciating the area he was in and the sounds of the simple forest were soothing (when ignoring the clashes of war). He expected this to be a huge let down and 'just another game', but it really DID seem like an alternate reality. Now, what to do in this new world…

A nervous nausea suddenly overcame him; Wasn't the point of the game to become stronger? He had never played a game like this before and hadnt the slightest clue as to where to start. The guard standing in front of the church seemed the best place to start.

"Ahem, excuse me sir, but-"

"WELCOME! You have done well in choosing to help fight for the Alliances cause! The wild boar have been giving us trouble lately, kill 10 of them and I'll give you this slightly sharpened wooden sword!" The guard had a bellowing voice that rang throughout the entire area. Alkaid, a little thrown off, just started at the guard. The guard seemed to look at nothing in particular; he just wore an enormous grin and continued to stare ahead; Alkaid wasn't even sure if the guard had actually been talking to him. Already embarrassed, he figured he would try again;

"I-I'm sorry? I need to know how to-"

"I'm sorry young one! It seems to still have 10 wild boar left to kill before I give you this sword!"

"Would you let me finish my damned sentence! I don't want that piece of crap s-"

"I'm sorry young one! It seems to still have 10 wild boar left to kill before I give you this sword!"

Alkaid let out a frustrated sigh. So, maybe this wasn't going to be as extravagant as he expected. He turned around and looked once again to the expanse of the forest. He caught a glimpse of a large, robed man running through the trees in the distance. As he ran, a small imp was following him, casting fireballs at every animal they passed killing them all instantly.

"Ha! That looks easy enough! If that tiny imp can kill them so easily, my mace should make quick work of them!" Alkaid ran full speed towards the nearest wild boar and swung the mace he had been carrying with full force. The boar barely flinched and afterwards just stared directly at Alkaid.

With a roaring snort, the boar began to beat Alkaid down ferociously. In mere seconds his world had been destroyed. His very first battle and he had stood no chance what-so-ever. The dull looking corpse he saw on his screen shattered all hope he had for this 'reality'. Once again he was nothing but a failure.

His head hung in despair, but the damned head mount display wouldn't relieve him of the disappointing scene in front of him. Frustrated, he grabbed the display and yanked it off. Throwing it to the ground, he flopped onto his bed in defeat.


	2. Login 2:  Promise

**Login 2: Promise**

_Would you like to be revived?_

He had only been gone for about an hour when he decided to do his homework to get his mind off of things. He was a little surprised when he came to the computer to close the game and was presented with a dialog box.

_Would you like to be revived?_

The question seemed to be mocking him. Had someone passed by and was nice enough to help his pathetic alternate self? Did he really want to give it another try? Deciding not to dwell on it and just do it, he hurriedly accepted.

His body was surrounded by a beautiful white light and rose to life once more. In front of him stood a ferocious looking panther. Looking around, there was no one else in sight.

"Was that you who helped me?" The panther simply sat there staring at him. Its fur was a luscious deep purple and it had twin blue lighting bolts on each cheek. Alkaid let out a nervous laugh… He half expected an animal to talk? It was a game after all, but he still felt silly for thinking there was more a chance of it replying than not. After a moment of awkward staring, he decided that the panther didn't appear as if it was going to talk, nor attack, so turned around and began to walk back towards the church.

"What did you mean when you cried 'I fail at this reality too' "? Alkaid spun around, surprised to hear someones voice. Once again, only the panther was in sight.

"I-I said that out loud? Well… I… I meant… Its just that, I don't really have too good of a life. I was hoping this would be something of an escape… somewhere I can be successful." He was half surprised at himself for confessing such a deep thought to an animal in a game [he still wasn't even sure that's who the voice belonged to], but he really didn't care anymore at the same time.

"I can help you become better. Maybe even the best. All you have to do is make a promise to me." The panther stepped forward and began to transform into a tall female nightelf. Her skin was the same color the fur had been, and her hair a mere shade darker. The twin bolts remained on her face and her eyes seemed to be pure black, fading into infinity.

"A promise? What kind of promise? How can you make me the best?"

"All you need to do is promise me that you will never leave. Promise to stay by my side and forever keep yourself to me, and I will help you."

Alkaid was a little freaked out. Stay by her side, forever? He blushed a little at the thought- was she asking him out or something? He quickly pushed the thought away, it didn't matter. He just wanted to be successful no matter what.

"I promise, Ill do what ever it takes."

The nightelf smiled and put her hand to Alkaids cheek. "Thank you."

Alkaid once again found himself basked by light, but it was different this time. It seemed purer, whiter than before, and filled his entire display. He felt warm tingling on his skin, and the hairs on his arms rose. What was this? What was going on? How could the game make him physically feel something? The thoughts were soon pushed away… he felt extremely tired and had the sensation of floating. The display went black and Alkaid couldn't see anything. His eyes heavy, he closed them and went into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Login 3:  Party of Two

**Login 3: Party of Two**

When he awoke he was still in a lush green forest, but it seemed to be a different part of it. He tried to look around, but didn't feel the controller in his hand. Alkaid reached out to feel for it on the desk when he noticed he was moving around in game. He tried turning his head to look around, and to his amazement it actually worked. He froze up, a little shocked at what was happening. As if out of thin air the nightelf appeared in front of him in its panther form. She looked the same as before except for her eyes. They were no longer the sinister black holes, but now a brilliant bluish green.

"Whats going on? Am I… Am I _inside_ of the game?" The panthers tail curled, and she laughed slightly, turning her head to face away from him.

"I prefer not to think of it as a 'game'. My 'world' is a more fitting term. You promised that you would never leave me, so I brought you to me. It was the only way to make your promise realistic." There was an awkward silence between the two. Alkaid had no idea what to say, or even think, so they just sat there together, staring blankly into the horizon.

Finally, she spoke. "What is it that you _really _want from this place. Whats your actual goal?"

He didn't even have to think about it, "I want to be the strongest and make myself worth knowing in this world. I want to be one of the best… or, at least someone notable. I just want to be _someone_."

She twitched an eyebrow and met his eyes again. "What I did to you… Are you fine with it? Would meeting that goal be worth it?" He sat there, silent for another length of time pondering the question.

Not expecting an answer, the nightelf looked away and let out a sad sounding sigh. Patiently she shuffled her feet on the ground, savoring the hard blades of grass against her paws. After a while, Alkaid spoke up again. "It may sound strange to you… but, yes. I think even if I didn't meet my goal, I would like it better this way."

She clapped her paws together in front of his face, laughing. "In that case, stop being such a party pooper! Cheer up a little!"

"I don't even know your name-"

"Katsby. Your turn!"

"Alkaid, but I still don't think-"

"Now that we have each other's names, lets party." She seemed lost in thought for a moment and Alkaids view suddenly became filled with a request. Mentally tapping 'Yes', it vanished. They both sat there, Alkaid awkwardly shifting around while Katsby waited for him to speak.

""Um… I don't know if you'd like it… but…"

"Spit it out!" She laughed again. Alkaid blinked, suddenly feeling more comfortable.

"Well, I read in the guide that a great place to get stronger and better stuff was by going to dungeons. Could we do that? It sounded really fun." The panther looked around, ears pressed against her head in thought. She finally pointed in the direction of a far off mountain ridge, and looked at Alkaid. He glanced at her pointing paw, then at her, confused. She shook her head, laughing.

"The Deadmines are in that direction. I hear that's a great beginners dungeon- I see people go there all the time." At this Alkaid leapt up eagerly, taking his mace in his hands and nodding enthusiastically. Katsby only giggled, reverting back into her nightelf form and getting up with a bit more class than her new friend.


End file.
